Tokyo Dismisses Chinese Protest Over Visit of Senior Japanese Official to Taiwan

The visit of a Japanese senior official to Taiwan on Saturday was meant only to promote Japan's tourist sights, local media reported Tuesday citing Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The visit of a Japanese senior official to Taiwan on Saturday was meant only to promote Japan's tourist sights and did not contradict Tokyo's commitments concerning the "One China" policy, local media reported Tuesday citing Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida.

On Monday, China lodged protest over the visit of Japanese State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Jiro Akama to Taiwan, accusing the Japanese authorities of violating commitments to not make direct political contact with the island.

According to the NHK broadcaster, Kishida said that Akama had made the visit only to promote the Japanese countryside and dismissed China's claim that the visit contradicted Japan's pledge to limit contacts with Taiwan to non-governmental areas of discussion.

On Saturday, Akama took part in the opening ceremony of the Japanese tourism exhibition in Taiwan, marking the highest ranking visit of a Japanese official to the country since 1972.

The problem of the legal status of Taiwan dates back to the post World War II period, and in particular, to the 1952 San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan which did not specify to what country the island was to be surrendered, leading to the rise of the Taiwan independence movement. China does not recognize the independence of Taiwan, instead choosing to regard the island as its breakaway province.

In 1972, China and Japan announced a joint statement concerning the issue of Taiwan, according to which Japan promised to stick to the "One China" policy, severing their political ties to the island. In 1992, Taipei and Beijing also reached a consensus that there is only one China, but did not specify, which government is considered to be legitimate.